Apparatus and method for transmitting/receiving of data in a wireless communication system providing different services

ABSTRACT

A communication method and system for converging a fifth generation (5G) communication system for supporting higher data rates beyond a fourth generation (4G) system with a technology for Internet of things (IoT) are provided. The communication method and system may be applied to intelligent services based on the 5G communication technology and the IoT-related technology, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Korean patent application number 10-2017-0037090, filed onMar. 23, 2017, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to an apparatus and method fortransmitting/receiving data in a wireless communication system. Moreparticularly, the disclosure relates to a data transmission/receptionapparatus and method for providing heterogeneous data services in thewireless communication system.

BACKGROUND

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased sincedeployment of fourth generation (4G) communication systems, efforts havebeen made to develop an improved fifth generation (5G) or pre-5Gcommunication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication systemis also called a ‘beyond 4G network’ or a ‘post long term evolution(LTE) System.’ The 5G wireless communication system is considered to beimplemented not only in lower frequency bands but also in higherfrequency (mm Wave) bands, e.g. 10 GHz to 100 GHz bands, so as toaccomplish higher data rates. To mitigate propagation loss of the radiowaves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massivemultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO),array antenna, an analog beam forming, and large scale antennatechniques are being considered in the design of the 5G wirelesscommunication system. In addition, in 5G communication systems,development for system network improvement is under way based onadvanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RANs), ultra-densenetworks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul,moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points(CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like. In the 5Gsystem, hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM) (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC)as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), filter bank multi carrier(FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multipleaccess (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed.

The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network wherehumans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internetof things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange andprocess information without human intervention. The Internet ofeverything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and thebig data processing technology through connection with a cloud server,has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology,”“wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure,” “serviceinterface technology,” and “Security technology” have been demanded forIoT implementation, a sensor network, a machine-to-machine (M2M)communication, machine type communication (MTC), and so forth have beenrecently researched. Such an IoT environment may provide intelligentInternet technology services that create a new value to human life bycollecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT maybe applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building,smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smartappliances and advanced medical services through convergence andcombination between existing information technology (IT) and variousindustrial applications.

In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5Gcommunication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies, suchas a sensor network, MTC, and M2M communication may be implemented bybeamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. Application of a cloud RAN as theabove-described big data processing technology may also be considered tobe as an example of convergence between the 5G technology and the IoTtechnology.

The 5G systems will support more diverse services in comparison with thelegacy 4G systems. Examples of representative services are enhancedmobile broad-band (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communication(URLLC), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and evolvedmultimedia broadcast/multicast service (eMBMS). Among these services,the URLLC service is newly considered for the 5G system, while is notbeing considered for 4G systems, and has requirements ofultra-reliability (e.g., packet error rate of about 10⁻⁵) and lowlatency (e.g., about 0.5 msec). In order to meet such demandingrequirements, the URLLC service may be provided with a transmission timeinterval (TTI) shorter than that of the eMBB service in consideration ofvarious operation schemes.

For example, a scenario where an eMBB service in a downlink networkenvironment is scheduled and operated based on an eMBB TTI, and an URLLCservice is scheduled and operated based on a TTI shorter than the eMBBTTI could be considered. In this scenario, the event that while the basestation transmits eMBB service packets, the base station shall transmitURLLC packets could occur. If the base station shall transmit the URLLCpackets while the base station transmits the eMBB service packets, thebase station shall allocate some resources reserved for the eMBB servicepackets to provide the URLLC service instead of the eMBB service datadue to the characteristics of the URLLC services. If the base stationallocates some resources reserved for the eMBB service to provide theURLLC service instead of the eMBB service, a problem that a terminalprovided with the eMBB services considers and processes the URLLCservice data as the eMBB service data could occur. This problem causeserious deterioration in reception performance of the terminal providedwith the eMBB services.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination hasbeen made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentionedproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to providea method for mitigating performance degradation of a low priorityservice in a case of allocating part of resources reserved for the lowpriority service for the purpose of supporting a high priority servicein a situation where heterogeneous services are provided in a wirelesscommunication system.

Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide an efficient low priorityservice resource allocation information provision method of atransmitter or a base station in consideration of a capability of areceiver or a terminal.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method of a basestation is provided. The method includes generating a slot-basedtransmission signal including a mini-slot associated with aheterogeneous data services, transmitting the slot-based transmissionsignal to a terminal, and transmitting information indicating whetherthe slot-based transmission signal includes the mini-slot associatedwith a heterogeneous data service.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of aterminal is provided. The method includes receiving a slot-basedtransmission signal including a mini-slot associated with aheterogeneous data services, receiving information indicating whetherthe slot-based transmission signal includes the mini-slot associatedwith a heterogeneous data service, and decoding the slot-basedtransmission signal based on the information.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible toallocate resources for data transmission and indication informationtransmission efficiently when heterogeneous services having differentcharacteristics are provided in wireless communication system. Aterminal can recognize the resources allocated for each service. It ispossible to achieve the great improvement in performance by applyingefficient modulation and demodulation to low priority service losingsome reserved resources for providing high priority service.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it ispossible to achieve the great improvement in reception efficiency ofeach service by combining indication information transmitted at multipletimings to configure indication information.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a resource allocation unit forslot-based services in a fifth generation (5G) wireless communicationsystem according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining resource allocation formini-slot-based services in resource regions allocated for slot-basedservices according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 3A and 3B shows a case where a transport block (TB) is segmentedinto 4 code blocks (CBs) in a slot according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 4A exemplifies a case where a TB is composed of one CB according toan embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4B depicts the puncturing region in view of the terminal that hasreceived the puncturing region indicator according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a base station in asystem using the control channel timings of 1) and 2) according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 5B and 5C are flowcharts illustrating operations of a terminal ina system using the control channel timings of 1) and 2) according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a base station fortransmitting a puncturing region indicator in the next slot in the casewhere mini-slot-based service data is transmitted in the current slotregardless of mini-slot-based data occurrence timing according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 6B and 6C are flowcharts illustrating operations of a terminalaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating operations of a terminal and abase station in the case of transmitting a puncturing region indicatorat the control channel timing 3) according to various embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a base station inthe above situation according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a terminal in theabove situation according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a base station according to an embodimentof the disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like parts, components, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thedisclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of thedisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of thedisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic,parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations orvariations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error,measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those ofskill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effectthe characteristic was intended to provide.

It is known to those skilled in the art that blocks of a flowchart (orsequence diagram) and a combination of flowcharts may be represented andexecuted by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be loaded on a processor of a general purpose computer,special purpose computer, or programmable data processing equipment.When the loaded program instructions are executed by the processor, theycreate a means for carrying out functions described in the flowchart.Because the computer program instructions may be stored in a computerreadable memory that is usable in a specialized computer or aprogrammable data processing equipment, it is also possible to createarticles of manufacture that carry out functions described in theflowchart. Because the computer program instructions may be loaded on acomputer or a programmable data processing equipment, when executed asprocesses, they may carry out operations of functions described in theflowchart.

A block of a flowchart may correspond to a module, a segment, or a codecontaining one or more executable instructions implementing one or morelogical functions, or may correspond to a part thereof. In some cases,functions described by blocks may be executed in an order different fromthe listed order. For example, two blocks listed in sequence may beexecuted at the same time or executed in reverse order.

In this description, the words “unit,” “module,” or the like, may referto a software component or hardware component, such as, for example, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) capable of carrying out a function or anoperation. However, a “unit,” or the like, is not limited to hardware orsoftware. A unit, or the like, may be configured so as to reside in anaddressable storage medium or to drive one or more processors. Units, orthe like, may refer to software components, object-oriented softwarecomponents, class components, task components, processes, functions,attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers,firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables,arrays or variables. A function provided by a component and unit may bea combination of smaller components and units, and may be combined withothers to compose larger components and units. Components and units maybe configured to drive a device or one or more processors in a securemultimedia card.

Before undertaking the detailed description of the disclosure below, itmay be advantageous to make a brief description of a fifth generation(5G) or new radio (NR) wireless communication system. The 5G wirelesscommunication system operates over broad bandwidth in comparison withthe legacy 3^(rd) generation (3G) and 4th generation (4G or long termevolution (LTE)/LTE-advanced (LTE-A)) wireless communication systems.Unlike the legacy 3G and 4G wireless communication standards developedin consideration of backward compatibility, the 5G wirelesscommunication standards consider forward compatibility. In accordancewith the standardization policy, the 5G wireless communication systemspecifies use cases of three service categories. The three servicecategories of the 5G wireless communication system are as follows:

The first service category is the enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)service based on enhanced transmission speed, the second servicecategory is the enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) service basedon massive Internet of things (IoT) as a data communication serviceamong things through wireless connections without any directmanipulation or involvement of human beings for information acquisitionand transmission anytime anywhere, and the third service category is theultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) service based onultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability.

In the following description, the enhanced data rate-based datacommunication service as the first service category may beinterchangeably referred to as “data communication,” “data communicationservice,” “eMBB,” “eMBB service,” and “eMBB communication service” withthe same meaning for convenience of explanation.

The massive IoT-based communication service as the second servicecategory may be interchangeably referred to as “IoT,” “IoT service,”“eMTC communication,” “eMTC communication service,” and “eMTC service”with the same meaning for convenience explanation.

The IoT communication service based on the ultra-low latency andultra-high reliability as the third service category may beinterchangeably referred to as “ultra-low latency service,” “highlyreliable service,” “ultra-low latency communication,” “highly reliablecommunication,” “ultra-low latency highly reliable IoT communication,”“ultra-low latency highly reliable IoT communication service,” “URLLC,”“URLLC communication,” “URLLC service,” and “URLLC communicationservice” with the same meaning for convenience of explanation.

In isolation from the viewpoint of service, communication signals may becategorized, from a structural view point, into one of two categories:slot transmission and mini-slot transmission, and the slot and mini-slotare distinguished by the number of symbols composing them. For example,a slot consists of 7 or 14 symbols, and a mini-slot consists of acertain number of symbols less than those of a slot. The concept of slotis used even in the legacy 4G communication systems, while the conceptof mini-slot has been newly introduced to meet the diverse requirementsof 5G communication systems. For example, use of the mini-slot may beconsidered in order to meet the requirement of a transmission unitcomposed of a small number of symbols, in comparison with the slot, forrealizing the ultra-low delay service. The mini-slot may be used forother services including eMBB as well as the ultra-low delay service.Accordingly, the slot and mini-slot may coexist in the same servicedepending on the situation and may also be used for providingheterogeneous services.

For example, it may be possible to consider a slot transmission-basedeMBB service and a mini-slot-based URLLC service. URLLC data is datarequiring ultra-low latency and high reliability. Accordingly, if theURLLC data occur in a burst manner, the base station has to transmit theURLLC data immediately. In this respect, it is necessary to allocateresources in unit of a very short transmission time interval (TTI), asexemplified in FIG. 1B, and transmit to the terminal the URLLC dataimmediately upon its occurrence. Since the URLLC data should betransmitted at a short TTI, it may occur that all of the availablefrequency resources, e.g., frequency resources for transmitting theURLLC data, are already allocated to other terminals. In this case, itmay be preferable for the URLLC service to have a priority higher thanthat of the eMBB service. Accordingly, the base station may allocatepart of the resources reserved for the eMBB service as the resources forURLLC service to transmit the URLLC data.

FIG. 1A exemplifies resources allocation in a slot transmission scheme.FIG. 1B exemplifies a case of allocating part of the resources reservedfor slot transmission to a specific terminal for mini-slot transmission.That is, if it is necessary to use a part of the slot resource allocatedto a specific terminal receiving the slot-based service data, this meansthat a slot data region of slot resource has been filled with slot datato be transmitted to the corresponding terminal. In this case, a basestation may puncture (or remove) part of the slot data mapped to theslot data region and insert mini-slot data 131 to the portion from whichthe slot data has been punctured. In the case where the base stationpunctures (or removes) part of the slot data mapped to the slot dataregion and fills the punctured portion with the mini-slot data 131, theterminal receiving the slot service may receive its desired slot-basedservice data including data mini-slot-based service destined for anyother terminal.

If the terminal receiving the slot-based service (e.g., eMBB) receivesits desired data including mini-slot-based service data (e.g., URLLCdata) destined for any other terminal in a long TTI 100 allocated forthe slot-based service, it performs demodulation and decoding on theslot-based service data including the mini-slot-based service data,resulting in significant data reception error. If the terminal fails todemodulate and decode data, it requests to the base station forretransmission. In the case of using a hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ) scheme for combining the received data, the terminal is likely toconsider the mini-slot-based service data as its desired slot-basedservice data and perform decoding on the slot-based service dataincluding the mini-slot-based service data destined for any otherterminal and thus request for retransmission more frequently than anormal case. As a consequence, the unintended retransmission requestscaused by the mini-slot-based service data being transmitted in a burstmanner results in unnecessary power waste of the terminal as well asbandwidth waste.

In the following description, the disclosure proposes an apparatus andmethod of a terminal that is capable of detecting mini-slot-basedservice data transmitted using part of the resources allocated for aslot-based service as shown in FIG. 1B. That is, the disclosure providesan apparatus and method for notifying a terminal receiving a firstservice of the presence of second service data transmitted at part ofthe resources allocated for the first service in a system supportingheterogeneous services. Also, the disclosure provides an apparatus andmethod for improving received data processing efficiency of a terminalbased on indication information transmitted by the base station.

In the following description, the disclosure also proposes variousschemes for use of the indication information and various formats of theindication information. In the following description, the disclosurealso proposes methods for use by a receiver.

A description is made of the resources for providing slot-based andmini-slot-based services with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a resource allocation unit forslot-based services in a 5G wireless communication system according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining resource allocation formini-slot-based services in resource regions allocated for slot-basedservices according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the horizontal axis denotes time, and the verticalaxis denotes frequency. In a wireless communication system, the resourceallocation is performed in unit of frequency and time resource. In FIG.1A, it is assumed that a frequency resource unit is defined by apredetermined frequency band or a predetermined number of frequencyresources. Here, the time resource may be allocated in the same form ordifferent forms for the respective services in a 5G wirelesscommunication system. FIG. 1A exemplifies a case of allocating timeresources for a slot-based service. For the slot-based service, a longTTI 100 is used as the resource allocation unit. The long TTI 100 beingallocated for the slot-based service may include a period fortransmitting a slot-based service control channel and a period fortransmitting slot-based service data.

FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining the resources allocated for theslot-based and mini-slot-based services.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a comparison is made between the slot-based andmini-slot-based services. As assumed above, it is assumed that afrequency resource unit is defined by a predetermined frequency band ora predetermined number of frequency resources. As described above, thelong TTI 100 is used as the resource allocation unit for the slot-basedservice and may include the period for transmitting the slot-basedservice control channel conveying control information and the period fortransmitting the slot-based service data. For the mini-slot-basedservice, it may be possible to allocate resources in units of a shortTTI 120 rather than the long TTI 100. The period for transmitting theslot-based service data channel may include two or more short TTIs. FIG.1B exemplifies a case where the period consists of three short TTIs 141,142, and 143. However, the data transmission period of the long TTI 100may be configured to include more than or less than three short TTIs asexemplified in FIG. 1B.

Hereinafter, the respective services are described on the basis of theexplanation made with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. As described above,the wireless communication system may allocate resources in units of thelong TTI 100 for providing a terminal with the slot-based service. Asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1A, the long TTI 100 may be composed ofa slot-based service control channel 110 for conveying the controlinformation and a slot-based service data channel 140 for conveyingslot-based service data The base station may transmit, on the slot-basedservice control channel 110, the control information for use by theterminal in receiving the slot-based service data 140. Accordingly, theslot-based service-receiving terminal may receive the controlinformation on the slot-based service control channel 110 and performdemodulation and decoding on the slot-based service data channel 140based on the control information conveyed in the slot-based servicecontrol channel 110.

Meanwhile, the mini-slot-based service data is data requiring ultra-lowlatency and high reliability. Accordingly, if the mini-slot-basedservice data occur in a burst manner, the base station has to transmitthe mini-slot-based service data immediately. In this respect, it isnecessary to allocate resources in units of a very short TTI asexemplified in FIG. 1B and transmit to the terminal the minislot-basedservice data immediately upon its occurrence. Since the mini-slot-basedservice data should be transmitted at the short TTI, it may occur thatall of the available frequency resources, e.g., frequency resources fortransmitting the mini-slot-based service data, are already allocated toother terminals. In this case, it may be preferable for themini-slot-based service to have a priority higher than that of theslot-based service. Accordingly, the base station has to allocate aportion of the resources reserved for the slot-based service as theresources for the mini-slot-based service to transmit themini-slot-based service data.

FIG. 1B exemplifies a case where part of the slot-based service resourceallocated to a certain terminal is re-allocated as the resource fortransmitting the mini-slot-based service data. That is, in the case ofusing a part of the eMBB resource 100 for transmitting themini-slot-based service data, the slot-based service data to betransmitted to the terminal may also be mapped to the slot-based servicedata region 140. Accordingly, the base station may puncture or removethe slot-based service data mapped to the resource to be re-allocatedfor mini-slot-based service data transmission in the slot-based servicedata region 140 and insert (map) the mini-slot-based service data 131 tobe transmitted to the terminal to the resource where the slot-basedservice data has been punctured or removed. In the case where the basestation punctures or removes the data mapped to part of the slot-basedservice data region 140 and inserts the mini-slot-based service data 131to the corresponding resource where slot-based service data has beenpunctured or removed, the slot-based service terminal may receiveunintended data as well as the target data in the resource regionallocated to the terminal.

If the slot-based service-receiving terminal receives themini-slot-based service data destined for any other terminal during thelong TTI 100 allocated to the slot-based service-receiving terminal, theslot-based service-receiving terminal performs demodulation and decodingon the data including the mini-slot-based service data that is notdestined for the slot-based service-receiving terminal, resulting insignificant data reception error. In this case, the slot-basedservice-receiving terminal may request to the base station forretransmission of the unsuccessfully demodulated and decoded data. Inthe case of using a HARQ scheme for combining the received data, theterminal is likely to consider the mini-slot-based service data as itsdesired slot-based service data and perform decoding on the slot-basedservice data including the mini-slot-based service data destined for anyother terminal and thus request for retransmission more frequently thana normal case. As a consequence, the unintended retransmission requestscaused by the mini-slot-based service data result in unnecessary powerwaste of the terminal as well as bandwidth waste.

In order to solve the above problems, it may be possible to consider amethod for the base station to notify the terminal of thepresence/absence of mini-slot service data in the previous or currenttransmission signal and, if present, position of the mini-slot servicedata using the slot-based service control channel. This method iscapable of improving reception performance of the terminal considerablyby using the information received through the control channel incomparison with the legacy method.

FIG. 2 is a diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the aforementioned methods are described in detailhereinafter. An indicator indicating a region of mini-slot-based servicedata in the previous or current slot may be transmitted at one of threedifferent control channel timings according to a mini-slot-based servicedata occurrence timing, as shown in FIG. 2. The information on theregion of the mini-slot-based service data may be equal in size to orgreater than a region occupied by mini-slots in a real slot. The threecontrol channel timings are described hereinbelow.

1) In the case where the mini-slot-based service data of whichoccurrence timing falls before the current slot is transmitted in thecurrent slot by puncturing a portion of slot-based service data in thecurrent slot allocated for transmitting slot-based service data andfilling the punctured portion with the mini-slot-based service data, theinformation on the region of the mini-slots located in the current slotis transmitted to the terminal through the control channel of thecurrent slot (first indicator of FIG. 1B is the case of the aboveexample).

2) In the case where the mini-slot-based service data of whichoccurrence timing falls in the current slot is transmitted in thecurrent slot, the information on the region of the mini-slots located inthe current slot is transmitted to the terminal through the controlchannel of a predetermined slot before the terminal transmits anHARQ-ACK after the current slot (second indicator of FIG. 1B is the caseof the above example).

3) In the case where the mini-slot-based service data of whichoccurrence timing falls in the current slot is transmitted in thecurrent slot, the information on the region of the mini-slots located inthe current slot is transmitted to the terminal through the controlchannel at the HARQ retransmission timing of the corresponding slot(third indicator of FIG. 1B is the case of the above example).

Descriptions are made of the methods for configuring the puncturingregion indicator in the control channel being transmitted at the controlchannel timings 1) and 2) among the three control channel timings. Thedisclosure proposes a method for designing a puncturing region indicatorwith a fixed bitwidth. The puncturing region indicator with a fixedbitwidth may be interpreted by a different unit of measure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a case where a transport block (TB) is segmentedinto 4 code blocks (CBs) in a slot according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 4A exemplifies a case where a TB is composed of one CB according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, assuming that the puncturing regionindicator has a bitwidth of 4 bits, it may be possible, in theembodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B, to indicate the puncturing region formini-slot-based service data in the CBs using a bitmap of 4 bits becausethe number of CBs is identical with the bitwidth of the puncturingregion indicator. If the 4-bit bitmap is used in the embodiment of FIG.3A, the puncturing region indicator may be set to 1100. FIG. 3B showsthe puncturing region information in view of the terminal that hasreceived the puncturing region indicator. The terminal can be aware ofthe puncturing region in the form as depicted in FIG. 3B based on thepuncturing region indicator.

Referring to FIG. 4A, in the case where a TB is composed of one CB, asshown in FIG. 4A, however, it is inefficient to use 1 bit of the 4-bitbitmap for indicating whether puncturing has been made in the CB becausethe remaining 3 bits become useless. In this case, it may be more usefulto informatize the symbols composing the slot. In order to apply this tothe case of FIG. 4A, it may be possible to sort some of symbols 2, 3, 4,5, 6, and 7 into sets to generate 4 groups of (2, 3), (4, 5), 6, and 7that are indicated by the 4-bit bit map. With this method, thepuncturing region indicator is set to 1100 for the case of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4B depicts the puncturing region in view of the terminal that hasreceived the puncturing region indicator according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4B, the terminal is capable of beingaware of the puncturing region in the form of FIG. 4B based on thepuncturing region indicator.

On the basis of the above description, the puncturing region indicatormay be configured according to the number of CBs composing a TB asfollows.

-   -   Bitwidth of indicator=N    -   Number of CBs per TB=K

In the case where the bitwidth of the puncturing region indicator isless than the number of CBs constituting one TB, as in the case of FIG.3A, the CB indices corresponding to the individual bits of thepuncturing region indicator may be configured as follows:

-   -   If N<=K,        Small size of CB group (CBGs)=floor(K/N)        Large size of CB group (CBGb)=ceil(K/N)        if CBGb=CBGs,        CB index represented by i ^(th) bit of puncturing region        indicator=(i−1)·CBGs+1:i·CBGs

If (Option1-1) CBGb>CBGs,

determine Ns and Nb=N−Ns satisfying Ns·CBGs+(N−Ns)·CBGb=K.

-   -   i.e., determine Ns=(K−N·CBGb)/(CBGs−CBGb) and        Nb=N−(K−N·CBGb)/(CBGs−CBGb).        CB index corresponding to i^(th) bit of puncturing region        indicator    -   If i<=Ns,        CB index=(i−1)·CBGs+1:i·CBGs    -   If i>Ns,        CB index=(i−Ns−1)·CBGb+1+Ns·CBGs:(i−Ns)·CBGb+Ns·CBGs

If CBGb>CBGs (Option1-2),

Determine Ns and Nb=N−Ns satisfying Ns·CBGs+(N−Ns)·CBGb=K.

-   -   That is, determine Ns=(K−N·CBGb)/(CBGs−CBGb) and Nb=N−(K−N·C        BGb)/(CBGs−CBGb).        CB index corresponding to i^(th) bit of puncturing region        indicator    -   If i<=Nb,        CB index=(i−1)·CBGb+1:i·CBGb    -   If i>Ns, CB index=(i−Nb−1)·CBGs+1+Nb·CBGb: (i−Nb)·CBGs+Nb·CBGb

Suppose that the puncturing region indicator has a bitwidth of 4 bits asan example of option 1 and option 2 and one TB consists of 6 CBs. Inthis case, the 6 code blocks are grouped into 1, 2, (3,4), and (5, 6) byapplying option 1 and into (1,2) (3,4), 5, and 6 by applying option 2.Then, it is possible to configure the puncturing region indicator in theform of a bitmap of 4 bits representing 4 CB groups. For example, if theCBs 3 and 5 are each partially punctured, the puncturing regionindicator with the bitwidth of 4 bits is set to 0011 in option 1 and0110 in option 2.

In the case where the bitwidth of the puncturing region indicator isgreater than the number of CBs constituting one TB, as in the case ofFIG. 4A, the number of symbols available for transmittingmini-slot-based service data with the exception of the symbolsunavailable for transmitting mini-slot-based service data, e.g., symbolscarrying the control channel, is determined as follows:

-   -   If N>K, (if K′<N, only K′ bits are used among N bits, and value        N is replaced by value K′ hereinbelow. The remaining bits N−K′        are reserved bits for use in indicating PRB-level granularity.)

Number of symbols available for transmitting mini-slot-based servicedata with the exception of the symbols carrying the control channel andunavailable for transmitting mini-slot-based service data (number ofavailable mini-slots)=K′

Here, it is assumed that the indices of available symbols (or availablemini-slots) are mapped to logical indices regardless of the originalsymbol (or mini-slot) indices. For example, if the available symbol (ormini-slot) indices are 2, 3, and 6, the symbol (or mini-slot) indices 2,3, and 6 are mapped to logical indices 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Then,it is possible to configure the puncturing region indicator with abit-width of 4 bits representing the respective CBs.Small size of symbol (or mini-slot) group (SGs)=floor(K′/N)Large size of symbol (or mini-slot) group (SGb)=ceil(K′/N)If SGb=SGs,Symbol (or mini-slot) index corresponding to i ^(th) bit of puncturingregion indicator=(i−1)·SGs+1: i·SGs

If (Option2-1) SGb>SGs,

determine Ns and Nb=N−Ns satisfying Ns·SGs+(N−Ns)·SGb=K′.

-   -   i.e., determine Ns=(K′−N·SGb)/(SGs—SGb) and        Nb=N−(K′−N·SGb)/(SGs−SGb).        Symbol (or mini-slot) index corresponding to i^(th) bit of        puncturing region indicator    -   if i<=Ns,        symbol (or mini-slot) index=(i−1)·SGs+1:i·SGs    -   if i>Ns,        symbol (or mini-slot)        index=(i−Ns−1)·SGb+1+Ns·SGs:(i−Ns)·SGb+Ns·SGs

FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a base station in asystem using the control channel timings of 1) and 2) according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5B and 5C are flowcharts illustrating operations of a terminal ina system using the control channel timings of 1) and 2) according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure. As described above, thepuncturing region indicator may be transmitted through the currentcontrol channel or not depending on the mini-slot-based trafficoccurrence timing.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the base station generates a slot-basedtransmission signal operation 510 a. The base station determines whethera mini-slot-based signal is transmitted in the current slot at operation520 a. If any mini-slot-based signal is not transmitted in the currentslot, a puncturing region information indicator is set to 0 at operation530 a. The base station determines whether the number of CBs in TB isgreater than the bit size of a puncturing region information indicatorat operation 540 a. If the number of CBs in TB is greater than the bitsize of the puncturing region information indicator, the base stationconfigures a CB-level or CB group-level puncturing region informationindicator bitmap at operation 550 a. Otherwise, the base stationconfigures a symbol-level, symbol group-level, or mini-slot group-levelpuncturing information indicator bitmap at operation 560 a. The basestation determines whether the puncturing region indicator can betransmitted through the control channel of the current slot at operation570 a. If the puncturing region indicator can be transmitted through thecontrol channel of the current slot, the base station transmits thepuncturing region information indicator through the control channel ofthe current slot at operation 580 a. Otherwise, the base stationtransmits puncturing region information indicator through controlchannel of next slot.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the terminal determines whether a new signal isreceived at operation 510 b. When the new signal is received, theterminal determines whether puncturing region information has beenreceived through the control channel of the current slot at operation520 b. If the puncturing region information has not been receivedthrough the control channel of the current slot, the terminal receivesthe puncturing region information through the control channel of thenext slot at operation 530 b. The terminal receiving the puncturingregion information sets bit LLR of the region indicated by the receivedpuncturing region information to 0 at operation 540 b. If the new signalis not received, e.g., the HARQ-retransmitted signal is received, theterminal performs bit LLR combining excluding the region indicated bythe puncturing region information received through previous controlchannel at operation 550 b. The terminal performs a channel decoding atoperation 560 b and a CRC check at operation 570 b. The terminaltransmits ACK at operation 580 b, or transmits CB-level or TB-level NACKat operation 590 b according to the result of the CRC check. Inaddition, if the terminal fails in the CRC check, the terminal storesbit LLR for the received signal at operation 590 b.

Referring to FIG. 5C, the terminal determines whether a new signal isreceived at operation 510 c. When the new signal is received, theterminal determines whether puncturing region information has beenreceived through the control channel of the current slot at operation520 c. If the puncturing region information has not been receivedthrough the control channel of the current slot, the terminal receivesthe puncturing region information through the control channel of thenext slot at operation 530 c, and combines the previously transmittedsignal and the HARQ-retransmitted signal excluding corresponding regionin decoding HARQ-retransmitted signal at operation 540 c. If thepuncturing region information has been received through the controlchannel of the current slot, the terminal sets bit LLR of the regionindicated by the received puncturing region information to 0 atoperation 550 c. If the new signal is not received, e.g., theHARQ-retransmitted signal is received, the terminal performs bit LLRcombining excluding the region indicated by the puncturing regioninformation received through previous control channel at operation 560c. The terminal performs a channel decoding at operation 570 c and a CRCcheck at operation 580 c. The terminal transmits ACK at operation 590 c,or transmits CB-level or TB-level NACK at operation 600 c according tothe result of the CRC check. In addition, if the terminal fails in theCRC check, the terminal stores bit LLR for the received signal atoperation 600 c.

Accordingly, if the mini-slot-based service data is transmitted in thecurrent slot, the base station may determine whether the puncturingregion indicator can be transmitted in the control channel of thecurrent slot and, according to the determination result, transmit thepuncturing region indicator through the control channel of the currentslot or the next slot. FIG. 5B shows an operation of the terminal in thecase where the puncturing region information is transmitted in thecontrol channel of the next slot, and FIG. 5C shows a decoding procedureof the terminal at the HARQ retransmission timing in the case where thepuncturing region indicator is transmitted in the control channel of thenext slot.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a base station fortransmitting a puncturing region indicator in the next slot in the casewhere mini-slot-based service data is transmitted in the current slotregardless of mini-slot-based data occurrence timing according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the base station generates a slot-basedtransmission signal operation 610 a. The base station determines whethera mini-slot-based signal is transmitted in the current slot at operation620 a. If any mini-slot-based signal is not transmitted in the currentslot, a puncturing region information indicator is set to 0 at operation630 a. The base station determines whether the number of CBs in TB isgreater than the bit size of a puncturing region information indicatorat operation 640 a. If the number of CBs in TB is greater than the bitsize of the puncturing region information indicator, the base stationconfigures a CB-level or CB group-level puncturing region informationindicator bitmap at operation 650 a. Otherwise, the base stationconfigures a symbol-level, symbol group-level, or mini-slot group-levelpuncturing information indicator bitmap at operation 660 a. The basestation transmits a puncturing region information indicator through thecontrol channel of the next slot 670.

This approach is advantageous in terms of reduction of terminalimplementation complexity because there is no need for the terminal todetermine whether the puncturing region indicator is transmitted in thecurrent or next slot.

FIGS. 6B and 6C are flowcharts illustrating operations of a terminalaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating a decoding procedure in a currentslot based on a puncturing region indicator being transmitted in thecontrol channel of the next slot, and FIG. 6C is a flowchartillustrating a decoding procedure at a HARQ retransmission timing basedon the puncturing region indicator being transmitted in the controlchannel of the next slot.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the terminal determines whether a new signal isreceived at operation 610 b. When the new signal is received, theterminal receives puncturing region information through the controlchannel of the next slot at operation 620 b, and sets bit LLR of theregion indicated by the received puncturing region information to 0 atoperation 630 b. If the new signal is not received, e.g., theHARQ-retransmitted signal is received, the terminal performs bit LLRcombining excluding the region indicated by puncturing regioninformation received through the previous control channel 640 b. Theterminal performs a channel decoding at operation 650 b and a CRC checkat operation 660 b. The terminal transmits ACK at operation 670 b, ortransmits CB-level or TB-level NACK at operation 680 b according to theresult of the CRC check. In addition, if the terminal fails in the CRCcheck, the terminal stores bit LLR for the received signal at operation680 b.

Referring to FIG. 6C, the terminal determines whether a new signal isreceived at operation 610 c. When the new signal is received, theterminal receives puncturing region information through the controlchannel of the next slot at operation 620 c, and combines the previouslytransmitted signal and the HARQ-retransmitted signal excludingcorresponding region in decoding HARQ-retransmitted signal at operation630 c. If the new signal is not received, e.g., the HARQ-retransmittedsignal is received, the terminal performs bit LLR combining excludingthe region indicated by puncturing region information received throughthe previous control channel 640 c. The terminal performs a channeldecoding at operation 650 c and a CRC check at operation 660 c. Theterminal transmits ACK at operation 670 c, or transmits CB-level orTB-level NACK at operation 680 c according to the result of the CRCcheck. In addition, if the terminal fails in the CRC check, the terminalstores bit LLR for the received signal at operation 680 c.

The above descriptions have been directed to the methods for configuringthe puncturing region indicator being transmitted at the control channeltimings 1) and 2) among the three control channel timings.

Hereinafter, a description is made of the method for configuring thepuncturing region indicator in the control channel being transmitted atthe control channel timing 3) among the three control channel timings.As shown in FIG. 2, the control channel timing 3) is the case where thebase station transmits the puncturing region indicator through thecontrol channel at an HARQ retransmission timing after the terminal hastransmitted an HARQ-ACK feedback to the base station. In this case, theterminal transmits to the base station CB-level ACK/NACK correspondingto the previously transmitted data, and the base station retransmits theCB(s) that has (have) been negatively-acknowledged (NACK'ed). In thiscase, it is necessary to configure the puncturing region indicator tocover only the CB(s) NACK'ed by the terminal.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating operations of a terminal and abase station in the case of transmitting a puncturing region indicatorat the control channel timing 3) according to various embodiments of thedisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the base station generates a slot-basedtransmission signal operation 710. The base station determines whether amini-slot-based signal is transmitted in the current slot at operation720. If any mini-slot-based signal is not transmitted in the currentslot, a puncturing region information indicator is set to 0 at operation730. The base station determines whether ACK/NACK of slot-basedtransmission signal is received at operation 740. If NACK is received,the base station determines whether the number of CBs corresponding toNACK is greater than the bit size of puncturing region informationindicator at operation 750. If the number of CBs corresponding to NACKis greater than the bit size of puncturing region information indicator,the base station configures symbol-level, symbol group-level, ormini-slot group-level puncturing information indicator bitmap includingCBs corresponding to NACK at operation 760. Otherwise, the base stationconfigures CB-level or CB group-level puncturing region informationindicator bitmap at operation 770. The base station retransmitsslot-based transmission signal, transmit puncturing region indicatorthrough control channel at operation 780. If ACK is received atoperation 740, the base station transmits next slot-based transmissionsignal at operation 790.

Referring to FIG. 8, the terminal determines whether a new signal isreceived at operation 810. If the new signal is not received, e.g., theHARQ-retransmitted signal is received, the terminal receives aslot-based signal (channel compensation, LLR generation) at operation820, and determines whether the terminal is impacted by mini-slot-basedtransmission at operation 830. If there is no impact by mini-slot-basedtransmission, the terminal combines with previously stored bit LLR atoperation 840, whereas if the terminal is impacted by mini-slot-basedtransmission, the terminal identifies information on region impacted bymini-slot-based transmission through control channel, excludescorresponding region, and combines with previously stored bit LLR atoperation 850. If the new signal is received, the terminal receivesslot-based signal (channel compensation, LLR generation) at operation860. The terminal performs a channel decoding at operation 870 and a CRCcheck at operation 880. The terminal transmits ACK at operation 890, ortransmits CB-level or TB-level NACK at operation 900 according to theresult of the CRC check. In addition, if the terminal fails in the CRCcheck, the terminal stores bit LLR for the received signal at operation900.

In this case, the puncturing region indicator may be configured asfollows. First, a number of CBs that have been negatively acknowledgedby the terminal is defined.

-   -   Number of CBs NACK'ed by terminal=K″

Here, it is assumed that the indices of the NACK'ed CBs are mapped tological indices regardless of the original CB indices. For example, ifthe CBs 2, 5, and 6 are NACK'ed, the CB indices 2, 5, and 6 are mappedto logical indices 1, 2, and 3. Hereinafter, the description is madewith the logical indices corresponding to the indices of the NACK'edCBs. Then, it is possible to configure the puncturing region indicatorwith a bitwidth of 4 bits representing NACK'ed CBs.

-   -   If −N<=K″,        Small size of CB group (CBGs)=floor(K/N)        Large size of CB group (CBGb)=ceil(K/N)    -   If CBGb=CBGs,        CB index corresponding to i ^(th) bit of puncturing region        indicator=(i−1)·CBGs+1:i·CBGs    -   If CBGb>CBGs,        Option 3-1)=replace K with K″ in Option1-1)        Option 3-2)=replace K with K″ in Option1-2)    -   If −N>K″,        Number of symbols (or mini-slots) constituting NACK'ed CBs=K′″

Here, it is assumed that the indices of the symbols (or mini-slots)constituting the NACK'ed CBs are mapped to logical indices regardless ofthe original symbol (or mini-slot) indices. For example, if the symbols(or mini-slots) 2, 4, and 6 constitute the NACK'ed CBs, the symbol (ormini-slot) indices 2, 4, and 6 are mapped to logical indices 1, 2, and3. Hereinafter, the description is made with the logical indices as areplacement of the symbols (or mini-slot indices) constituting theNACK'ed CBs.

If K′″>K″, (if K′″<N, only K′″ bits are used among N bits, and value Nis replaced by value K′″ hereinbelow. The remaining bits N−K′″ arereserved for use of indicating PRB-level granularity.)Small size of symbol (or mini-slot) group (SGs)=floor(K′″/N)Large size of symbol (or mini-slot) group (SGb)=ceil(K′″/N)

-   -   If SGb=SGs,        Symbol (or mini-slot) index corresponding to i ^(th) bit of        puncturing region indicator=(i−1)·SGs+1:i·SGs    -   If SGb>SGs,    -   Option 3-1)=replace K with K′″ in Option1-1)    -   Option 3-2)=replace K with K′″ in Option1-2)

If K′″<=K″, it may be possible to use K″ bits among N bits and reservethe remaining bits N−K″ for use by indicating PRB-level granularity.

CB index corresponding to ith bit of puncturing region indicator=i

In the above description, the method for configuring a puncturing regionindicator according to the puncturing region indicator transmissiontiming that falls in one of three control channel timings 1), 2), and 3)has been proposed. The puncturing region indicator has been configuredin a terminal-specific (user equipment (UE)-specific) manner.

FIG. 9 is a diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Hereinafter, a description is made of the method for configuring aterminal-group common (UE-group common) indicator. Referring to FIG. 9,a system bandwidth may be divided into terminal bandwidths (UEbandwidths), and the resources of one terminal bandwidth may beallocated to the terminals supporting the corresponding bandwidth. Ifmini-slot-based service data occur at the terminals receiving slot-basedservice data, some of the mini-slot-based services (e.g., URLLC) mayoccupy a broad bandwidth by their nature and, in this case, theterminals receiving the slot-based services may experience puncturingsimultaneously. If multiple terminals experience puncturing as above, itmay be possible to reduce puncturing region indicator transmissionoverhead by transmitting a terminal-group common indicator as apuncturing region indicator. In this case, it is preferable to use asymbol group-level puncturing region indicator rather than a CB-levelpuncturing region indicator, unlike the case of using theterminal-specific puncturing region indicator. The terminal-group commonindicator may be transmitted through a slot-based terminal-group commoncontrol channel (UE-group common physical downlink control channel(PDCCH)) of the slot in which puncturing occurs or a slot-based terminalgroup common control channel (UE-group common PDCCH) of the next slot.The transmission timing of the terminal-group common indicator isdetermined according to the mini-slot service data occurrence timingbased on the same principle as described with the control channeltimings 1) and 2).

As described above, because only the symbol-level puncturing regionindicator can be used in the UE-group common control channel, it may benecessary to transmit an extra indicator through a UE-specific controlchannel at every HARQ retransmission timings per terminal to transmitaddition information on the puncturing region. In this case thepuncturing region indicator may be configured as a CB-level or CBgroup-level puncturing region indicator in the NACK'ed CB of thecorresponding UE. The corresponding terminal may acquire the puncturingregion information by combining the symbol information received throughprevious terminal-group common control channel and CB informationreceived through a terminal-specific control channel.

FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a base station inthe above situation according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10A, the base station generates a slot-basedtransmission signal at operation 1010 a. The base station determineswhether a mini-slot-based signal is transmitted in the current slot atoperation 1020 a. If any mini-slot-based signal is not transmitted inthe current slot, a puncturing region information indicator is set to 0at operation 1030 a. The base station transmits a symbol-level, symbolgroup-level, or mini-slot group-level puncturing region informationindicator through a terminal-group common control channel of the nextslot at operation 1040 a, and transmits a CB-level or CB group-levelpuncturing region information indicator through a terminal-specificcontrol channel at the HARQ retransmission timing at operation 1050 a.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a terminal in theabove situation according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10B, the terminal determines whether a new signal isreceived at operation 1010 b. If the new signal is not received, e.g.,the HARQ-retransmitted signal is received, the terminal performs bit LLRcombining excluding corresponding region of the previous signal usingthe puncturing region information received through terminal-specificcontrol channel of current slot and the puncturing region informationreceived through previous terminal-group common control channel atoperation 1020 b. If the new signal is received, the terminal receivessymbol-level, symbol group-level, mini-slot-level, or mini-slotgroup-level puncturing region information through terminal-group commoncontrol channel of next slot at operation 1030 b. The terminal performsa channel decoding at operation 1040 b and a CRC check at operation 1050b. The terminal transmits ACK at operation 1060 b, or transmits CB-levelor TB-level NACK at operation 1070 b according to the result of the CRCcheck. In addition, if the terminal fails in the CRC check, the terminalstores bit LLR for the received signal at operation 1070 b.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a base station according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, a base station includes a base station processor(1110), a base station receiver (1120) and a base station transmitter(1130). The base station processor (1110) may refer to a controller, acircuitry, ASIC, or at least one processor configured to perform theoperations of the UE illustrated in the figures, e.g. FIGS. 1A to 10B,or described above. The base station receiver (1120) and the basestation transmitter (1130) are functionally coupled with the basestation processor (1110) to allow the base station to communicate withother entity such as a terminal.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, a terminal includes a terminal processor (1210), aterminal receiver (1220) and a terminal transmitter (1230). The terminalprocessor (1210) may refer to a controller, a circuitry, an ASIC, or atleast one processor configured to perform the operations of a basestation (e.g. gNB, eNB, network) illustrated in the figures, e.g. FIGS.1A to 10B, or described above. The terminal receiver (1220) and theterminal transmitter (1230) are functionally coupled with the terminalprocessor (1210) to allow the terminal to communicate with other entitysuch as a base station.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference tovarious embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as definedby the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a base station, the methodcomprising: transmitting, to a terminal, a plurality of symbols; andtransmitting, to the terminal, a bitmap associated with the transmittedplurality of the symbols, wherein a size of the bitmap is fixed, whereineach bit of the bitmap indicates whether a corresponding symbol group ofconsecutive symbols among the transmitted plurality of the symbols arepunctured or not, wherein the bitmap includes a first bit correspondingto a first symbol group and a second bit corresponding to a secondsymbol group, and the first symbol group and the second symbol groupinclude a different number of symbols, and wherein the first symbolgroup includes one more symbol than the second symbol group.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the terminal, ahybrid automatic repeat request acknowledge/negative acknowledge (HARQACK/NACK) associated with the transmitted plurality of the symbols basedon the bitmap.
 3. A method performed by a terminal, the methodcomprising: receiving, from a base station, a plurality of symbols;receiving, from the base station, a bitmap associated with the receivedplurality of the symbols, wherein a size of the bitmap is fixed and eachbit of the bitmap indicates whether to puncture a corresponding symbolgroup of consecutive symbols among the received plurality of the symbolsor not; and puncturing at least one symbol group among the receivedplurality of the symbols based on the bitmap, wherein the bitmapincludes a first bit corresponding to a first symbol group and a secondbit corresponding to a second symbol group, and the first symbol groupand the second symbol group include a different number of symbols, andwherein the first symbol group includes one more symbol than the secondsymbol group.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:transmitting, to the base station, a hybrid automatic repeat requestacknowledge/negative acknowledge (HARQ ACK/NACK) associated with thereceived plurality of the symbols based on the bitmap.
 5. A base stationcomprising: a transceiver; and at least one processor configured to:transmit, to a terminal via the transceiver, a plurality of symbols, andtransmit, to the terminal via the transceiver, a bitmap associated withthe transmitted plurality of the symbols, wherein a size of the bitmapis fixed, wherein each bit of the bitmap indicates whether acorresponding symbol group of consecutive symbols among the transmittedplurality of the symbols are punctured or not, wherein the bitmapincludes a first bit corresponding to a first symbol group and a secondbit corresponding to a second symbol group, and the first symbol groupand the second symbol group include a different number of symbols, andwherein the first symbol group includes one more symbol than the secondsymbol group.
 6. The base station of claim 5, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to receive, from the terminal via thetransceiver, a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledge/negativeacknowledge (HARQ ACK/NACK) associated with the transmitted plurality ofthe symbols based on the bitmap.
 7. A terminal comprising: atransceiver; and at least one processor configured to: receive, from abase station via the transceiver, a plurality of symbols, receive, fromthe base station via the transceiver, a bitmap associated with thereceived plurality of the symbols, wherein a size of the bitmap is fixedand each bit of the bitmap indicates whether to puncture a correspondingsymbol group of consecutive symbols among the received plurality of thesymbols or not, and puncture at least one symbol group among thereceived plurality of the symbols based on the bitmap, wherein thebitmap includes a first bit corresponding to a first symbol group and asecond bit corresponding to a second symbol group, and the first symbolgroup and the second symbol group include a different number of symbols,and wherein the first symbol group includes one more symbol than thesecond symbol group.
 8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to transmit, to the base station viathe transceiver, a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledge/negativeacknowledge (HARQ ACK/NACK) associated with the received plurality ofthe symbols based on the bitmap.